Background: The number of individuals with dementia is increasing substantially due to South Koreaââ?¬â?¢s rapidly\naging society. Undergraduate nursing students need to have adequate knowledge about dementia to deliver\nappropriate nursing services. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge about dementia among\nundergraduate nursing students.\nMethods: A total of 148 students ranging from freshmen to seniors at a nursing university participated in this\nstudy. Data were collected through self-reports using 12-item questionnaires with true/false responses. Knowledge\nlevels about the general characteristics including demographic categories and dementia- related education and\ntraining were determined. Factors affecting the score of dementia knowledge were also investigated.\nResults: The average score and standard deviation for knowledge about dementia were 10.26 and 1.24 out of 12\npoints. They had relatively low knowledge about the ââ?¬Å?prevention and treatmentââ?¬Â and ââ?¬Å?causesââ?¬Â of dementia, with\noverall correct rate of 78.6 % and 85.4 %, respectively. Higher level of knowledge about dementia was associated\nwith increase in grade level (p < 0.001), experience in education on dementia (p = 0.01), previous experience in\ncaring for people with dementia during clinical practice (p < 0.001), and acquiring information on dementia\n(p = 0.02). Factors that influenced knowledge about dementia included grade level and experience in caring for\ndementia patients during clinical practice.\nConclusions: This study showed that the level of knowledge about dementia among nursing students was\nreasonably good. Integrating dementia education and clinical experience into the curricula of undergraduates could\nimprove knowledge about the causes, prevention, and treatment methods for dementia.
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